Writing vs. editing
One of the things I tell students, and which I heard myself saying again the past two days in my workshops here at the Great Plains Theatre Conference, is that you shouldn’t try to edit while you write. It’s better to write, then edit. Otherwise, definitionally, you’re editing yourself — and writing should be a freeing process, not a judging process. It’s best to write, then edit.
My friend and colleague Shelly Lowenkopf is a writer and an editor, someone with major credits in both regards. If you’re interested in writing, I direct you to this posting on his blog, where he discusses the purpose of editing. Like most things I hear Shelly say, it’s filled with useful wisdom.